Dynamic and static quenching of 1,N6-ethenoadenine fluorescence in nicotinamide 1,N6-ethenoadenine dinucleotide and in 1,N6-etheno-9-(3-(indol-3-yl) propyl) adenine.

For nicotinamide 1,N6-ethenoadenine dinucleotide (epsilonNAD+), the fluorescent analog of NAD+, in neutral aqueous solution the quantum yield has been determined to be 0.028 and the fluorescent lifetime, 2.1 nsec. Simultaneous determination of quantum yields and lifetimes of epsilonNAD+ and of the "half molecule" epsilonAMP allows the calculation of the percentage of stacked and open conformations of the dinucleotide. At 25 degrees in neutral aqueous solution there is 45 +/- 5% of stacked forms. The value of the fluorescent impurities, especially those containing the epsilon-adenosine moiety, and a purification procedure using high performance liquid chromatography was devised to obtain fluorescently homogeneous preparations. In order to study the effect on epsilon-adenosine fluorescence caused by the possible close proximity of a tryptophan in a polypeptide chain or protein, we have prepared 1,N6-etheno-9-[3-(indol-3-yl)propyl]adenine (epsilonAde9-C3-Ind3), a model compound in which indole is used as a neutral substitute for tryptophan. Fluorescence studies on epsilonAde9-C3-Ind3 show that the formation of an intramolecular complex results in complete quenching of the epsilon-adenine fluorescence. It is therefore predictable that positioning of the epsilon-adenosine of any fluorescent coenzyme moiety (e.q., epsilonATP, epsilonADP) in close proximity to a tryptophan in a protein will result in complete fluorescence quenching of the former.